(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration are closely examining the state’s budget and a showdown is likely with the Republican-led House once he uses his line-item veto pen.
At a news conference earlier this week, the second-term Republican governor blasted House leadership, blaming them for the budget impasse. He also said he plans to prune the state’s appropriations by $500 million.
That would be less than DeSantis did last year, when he vetoed $949.6 million in appropriations, an 86% increase compared to the vetoes in 2024 budget ($511 million).
The two chambers dragged the budget fight out past the end of the session on May 23 and didn’t vote on a completed outlay until June 17.
“And it’s unfortunate, but the reality is, you know, the House leadership drug this out for 45 days for really no reason at all,” DeSantis said. “The budget that was enacted is not any type of sea change. There was no major policy victories in it. It was something that could have been done 45 days ago.”
The $115.1 billion budget passed on June 17 is $3.5 billion less this year’s outlay of $118.6 billion, a 3.2% cut. Lawmakers also managed to shoehorn $1.3 billion in tax relief and $830 million to pay off the state’s debt into the budget, which was passed just weeks before the start of the state’s new fiscal year on July 1.
Any vetoes can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both chambers, if lawmakers decide to return to Tallahassee.
DeSantis does have a blueprint for potential line-item vetoes after the release of the annual “Budget Turkey” report released by the nonprofit Florida TaxWatch. The report found $416.1 million in questionable expenses that the group would like DeSantis’ administration to examine.
The group also said $799.5 million of member projects put into the budget by lawmakers for cities, counties and other local outlays “merit extra scrutiny and close gubernatorial review.”
DeSantis and the House have been on bad terms since House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, took over the speaker’s gavel. He balked at DeSantis’ call for a special session to tackle immigration and condominium reform in January after President Donald Trump’s election.
The Legislature gaveled out of DeSantis’ special session and convened one of its own, but it took three weeks of wrangling to pass a bill that was acceptable to the governor.
Lawmakers finally passed a condo reform package that DeSantis signed on Monday.
The House also drew DeSantis’ ire for holding hearings on the transfer of $10 million that was part of a settlement with health care giant Centene for overbilling of Medicaid for prescription drugs and donated to the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity run by First Lady Casey DeSantis.
The money was later transferred to several political committees that were fighting constitutional amendments such as recreational marijuana on the November ballot.
The House ended its inquiry for the session on April 24 after two witnesses called by the Health Care Budget Subcommittee didn’t show up to testify.
